BiNaK lube products - they're awsome - here's a review...

Hi Guys, here's a review I've written about my experiences with some new, technologically advanced valve oil which you probably haven't even heard of, but I thoroughly recommend it. Sorry it's so long, but please take time to read about my experiences, I promise you won't be dissapointed...

I would like to share my experiences of these products and my correspondance with the designer, Nanette Kappus, for the benefit of all other players who wish to have trouble free, mess free valves.

For the record, I have a one year old Yamaha Maestro Cornet - their top of the range model.

I had wanted to try Binak for quite some time as a result of all the great things I had heard about it, but due to me living in the UK, I had not wanted to bother with all the fuss of buying from the US. So when I saw some bottles of Binak 495 up for auction on the UK ebay site, and saw that the seller lived quite locally, I thought "Great, now I can finally get some of this stuff and try it out".

I won the auction and received a bottle of Binak 495.

I got it home and was eager to try it. I had heard all about having to thoroughly clean the instrument in order to remove all traces of oil before applying Binak, as they do not mix and this can cause a lot of problems.

I filled the bath tub up with warm water and squirted in quite a liberal amount of dish detergent. I then proceeded to bath my cornet, paying special attention to the slides, valves and valve casings with a cloth and 'pull-through' rod.

I rinsed and dried the instrument parts and set about reassembling it all. As is recommended, I applied a thin line of Binak 495 to each of the slides. When I inserted them they were so smooth and easy to move, it was unbelievable. In the past, to get my slides moving that freely, I had to apply some of that horrible pink goo made by Selmer then a drop of valve oil to thin it out - this all led to one big mess normally. With Binak, it's completely different - one small drop or line and that’s it, there isn't enough of it to make a mess, it just covers the exposed metal surfaces and stays there, no oozing!

Then it was time to really test it - on the valves. I applied one or two drops of Binak to each valve then spun them into the casings and screwed them up. I depressed each valve a couple of times then removed them. To my amazement, all of the valve surface was COMPLETELY covered, from just two drops of oil. I used to have to apply several times that amount when I was using Al Cass or Blue Juice.

When I tried operating the valves, I found them to be super smooth, but way too slow. I was a little disheartened but thought I would give them a few days to settle in. After 3 days with no improvement, I tried wiping the valves off and reapplying the Binak - no improvement, still way too slow. I thought "this can't be right" and so I contacted Nanette Kappus for her advice.

Nanette couldn’t have been more helpful. She straight away apologised for the trouble I was having with her product and proceeded to give me advice about how to resolve the issue. She explained that dish detergent often contains silicones, especially lanolin, to help protect the dish washer's skin. Binak is designed to clean off these silicones and any oil residues, but if there are too many it will just gum up. She also sent me a bottle of the lighter Binak Pro oil - FREE OF CHARGE - to see if that would help with my particular valves. I was stunned by her generosity, she is quite unlike most business men/women.

In the meanwhile, Nanette suggested that I get some Simple Green domestic degreaser to clean the valves and casings again in order to properly remove all traces of oil and silicones. Although common in the US, Simple Green is unheard of in the UK, so I got some general domestic degreaser - the sort you would use in the kitchen.

I waited until the Binak Pro arrived then, as instructed, I mixed the whole bottle of degreaser 50/50 with warm water in the kitchen sink and used a lint free cloth on the valves and casings again.

After rinsing and drying my horn, I again started to put it back together. When I got to the valves, I put 2 drops of Biank Pro on each valve and spun them into place. This time, it was quite miraculous, the valves felt really great! And because it only took 2 drops per valve, there was none of the oozing of oil that I used to get sometimes after oiling my valves. My feelings about this are that although the thinner Binak Pro might have helped a little due to the very close tolerances of the valves in my cornet, the thing which made the biggest difference was PROPERLY cleaning the valves and casings of any silicones and oil residues.

3 weeks later, I haven't re-oiled my valves yet and they're still going like the wind! My slides are moving more freely than ever too!

Things I've learned from my experiences:

* Nanette Kappus is a lovely lady who will stop at nothing to ensure that you are 100% satisfied with her product. If you are still not satisfied, she will refund you money.

* To effectively remove all traces of oil and silicones from the valves and their casings you need to use some proper degreaser, not just dish detergent.

* Binak Pro may be more appropriate if you have very close tollerance valves.

* A little extra effort to start off with before you apply Binak for the first time may be needed, but it will be highly beneficial in the long run.

* Although a bottle of Binak may be a little more expensive to purchase than many other oils, it will last you years. You really only need to apply one or two drops per valve, and each application lasts for weeks without slowing down at all, even with daily playing.

I highly recommend the Binak range of lubricants, especially the Binak Pro as this is what has worked for me.